Hollywood won't face fine for Taft Street sewage spill

A year after some 20 million gallons of raw sewage poured into the C-10 canal, some nearby Hollywood residents still can't get the putrid stench out of their heads.

Repeated assurances from city officials that water in the canal returned to normal within weeks of the Taft Street sewer-main rupture haven't made a difference.

"A lot of people are very hesitant about getting close to the water because they're still not sure what, if anything, is in the water," said Cliff Germano, who lives in the area and is president of the North Central Hollywood Civic Association. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor this month.

Germano and others don't think the water testing has been sufficient and are concerned about what may still be sitting in the bottom of the canal.

But the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has closed its books on the incident. It said the city has completed all the required corrective actions, including the development of a sewer overflow response plan.

It also decided not to penalize the city. The city could have been fined as much as $205,500 for the Nov. 16-18, 2011, incident, DEP spokesman Patrick Gillespie said, but that wasn't done because the city spent close to $1 million repairing the broken main.

"In this case, the city voluntarily spent $995,882 to place a liner in the existing 48-inch diameter pipe, which was above what was needed to repair the failed forcemain," Gillespie said. "As a result, the department now considers the case closed."

Germano last week filed a complaint with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He was concerned the pipe might still be leaking after seeing crews working on it recently, but commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson said one of its officers investigated and didn't detect any leaks.

City spokesman Jamie Hernandez said any crews at the site would have been doing routine follow-up work.

The 48-inch Taft Street sewer main ruptured during a construction project to connect a new sewer line to it, leading to nearly three days of untreated sewage spilling into the middle of Taft Street. Officials diverted the sewage into the canal to prevent it from flooding into homes on North 31st Road.

To strengthen the ruptured pipe and protect against future breaks, the city installed 1,300 feet of lining into the pipe earlier this year.

Residents say fish and wildlife in and around the canals have not returned to their previous levels, but Gillespie said that will take longer.

"Fish need time to procreate and return in the area," Gillespie said. "There have been levels returning in the canal, so we're encouraged by that.